RAW Review and Reactions

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good! It's Tuesday all over again and which means I'm back today with my RAW Review and Reactions. Last night's show was another jam packed one as the build up to Elimination Chamber continued. In today's blog post I take you back to all of last nights action, as I awnser questions such as; What happened next in the divas division after Paige's dramatic return last week? What was waiting around the corner this week for the lunatic fringe, Dean Ambrose? and did we get any more news and updates surrounding the Elimination Chamber pay per view? With so much to get through today I don't want to waist too much time and I just want to jump straight into things. First of all I do have some of the usual boring reminders for you. I know that last night I didn't upload my RAW predictions and I haven't been uploading very much recently and that's simply because I have had some things to deal with over the weekend and I hope you all understand. But I am getting back on track with things now and hopefully everything will be back to normal very soon. I have also decided to write my Elimination Chamber predictions even though I did say I wasn't going to. The way these are uploaded may be different to how my usual pay per view posts are uploading, so just keep that in mind. Next month I will start pre posting for July as that will be NXT month once again on my blog, further details are coming on all of that. I will also have more updates coming soon with my podcast so there's also that to look forward too! I will link bellow any recent posts including last weeks RAW and NXT Review and Reactions posts. Finally, you can let me know what you thought of last nights action by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

Last night's show kick started with a beautiful one minuets of silence as it of course was Remembrance day witch I thought was a real nice touch to the show and gave a lovely feel to everything. The actual action kick started with Kane, J&J Security, Stephanie McMahon, Triple and the WWE World Heavyweight champion, Seth Rollins, aka, the Authority. After Ambrose forced the Authority to give him a championship match at the Elimination Chamber pay per view we were given the fall out of the closing moments of last weeks episode of RAW. Of course, Rollins was first to jump on the mic recapping last weeks closing moments, making it clear that Ambrose did not deserve a title shot and that demanded the Authority to take the title shot away from Ambrose. We then had Hunter call Dean down to the ring to sign the contract for the match and of course that came with an awesome, killer Ambrose promo/moment. What I love about Ambrose and Rollins is the true chemistry between them. This opening segment was done so well. This was probably my favourite piece of mic work from Rollins ever. I do feel like this mini feud is a little out of the blue and doesn't make all that much sense. I'm worried that this is just setting Ambrose up for disaster and will destroy all he's momentum he has built over the past couple of months. But it is nice seeing him take centre stage after waiting so long. After things started to turn against Ambrose and the numbers game caught up with him, Roman Reigns came to stand by he's side and a tag team match was announced between Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose VS Kane and Seth Rollins. Stephanie also told Ambrose he had to the end of the night to sign the contract.

So, first match of the night, tag team action as former Shield partners Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns teamed up to take on Kane and the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins. Starting the match was Kane and Ambrose. Throughout the match "Ambrose" chants echoed through the arena and it was clear who the crowd favourite of the night was. Dean took early control of the match and when the birthday boy, Reigns got involved and made the tag the momentum stayed on the same team. The one time things started to change was when Rollins entered the match and began to wear down Ambrose taking slow control of the match. Throughout we saw the amazing team work and chemistry between Roman and Dean which is always great. I mean come on, who doesn't love a little Shield flashback. Chemistry was a key factor throughout this match. You could tell their was just so much history in the ring between these superstars however, Kane really did struggle to find he's place in the match and didn't get as much time in the ring but he did have he's moments. I worry for Kane. The foundation is set for something big for him but he just can't find he's place at the moment he's not having the best of months. Another thing I noticed in this match was how much Reigns stood out. I keep saying it but he really is improving big time and the more we see of him the more he impresses me. Saying that I really don't want to see him as this years money in the bank winner. I will of course be taking about that more over the next couple of weeks. In the end, Ambrose got a surprise back slide win, pinning the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. If that happens this Sunday that title will be wrapped nicely around the waist of the lunatic fringe. A huge win for Ambrose and a huge momentum gain. A great start of the night for Dean Ambrose. Backstage work saw Ambrose gain even more momentum

Up next, Rusev, and after the split between him and Lana finally happened last week this was the first time we saw Rusev out on he's own with him fresh away from Lana. Before he's match began they replayed that kiss between Lana and Ziggler and we saw Rusev take a good hard look at the Intercontinental Championship. He's opponent of the night was one of five other men who he would meet inside the elimination chamber this up and coming Sunday, R-truth. The match was short lived and Rusev walked away with a very predicable win, gaining some much needed momentum before chasing after the IC title. After the match Rusev asked Lana to come down to the ring demanding that

they need to talk. The longer Lana took to come down to the ring the more desperate Rusev became.  When the show returned from an ad break Rusev was still talking on the mic and I have to admit, he is not all that bad on the mic. I honestly think he could survive without Lana, he won't need her to speak for him at all. He is perfectly capable of speaking for himself and I hope that splitting him and Lana up won't effect him badly. This is one seriously talented superstar. I didn't really like how Rusev was coming across last night. It was as if he was some bitter ex who couldn't let go and I hated it. When we thought Rusev and Lana were actually going to get back together I was a little confused but it did feel like something bigger was going to happen and it did. Rusev asking for Lana to say those big three words, "I was wrong" was the breaking point and we saw the official split between them and I have to say Lana's mic work was amazing throughout and I have to say the same for Rusev. An all round strong segment and one of my favourite parts of the night.

Bad News Barrett/King Barrett was in action next and as we know Barrett will be competing this Sunday inside the Elimination Chamber as he hopes to become a six time Intercontinental Champion. He's opponent last night was another superstar set to compete for the IC title this weekend, Ryback. I will of course have more on my predictions for the Chamber match later this week but this was an interesting match to be booked last night. The early stages saw Barrett take control of the match itself, taking advantage of Ryback's injured ribs. Barrett brought a lot of character throughout the match and it was very interesting seeing him take so much control of the match. We really saw Ryback struggle to compete with he's injured ribs but he managed to find the strength in the end to pick up the win. Odd booking but I do feel like Ryback needed the win and I don't think it will effect Barrett badly anyway.

We next had a one on one match up between Stardust and Adrian Neville. This was set to be a very interesting match and had the potential to be a great one. They both have a very wide, impressive, limitless move set and so seeing how they go up against one another really excited me. I was hopeing for a fairly long match but if I'm being honest I wasn't expecting it. In the early stages of the match we saw Stardust take advantage of the injured knee from Neville, using that to take control of the match and edge closer to a victory. At one point in the match Neville's Elimination Chamber opponent, Bo Dallas, came down to ringside. Now, these two had an outstanding feud last year down in NXT so I know the level these two can perform on and I know that they honestly bring out the best in another. However, with how Bo has been booked and treated since coming up to the main roster it makes me mad that the fans who haven't seen NXT won't have faith in the feud or any interest in the match. For me as a long time NXT fan this was a nice flashback and I was so delighted we were getting round two between these guys. If they are given a fair amount of time this weekend then this could be a huge turning point for Bo, so I say keep a very close eye on these two, Bo in particular. After the Bo did attack Neville which allowed him to get in the spotlight and of course pick up momentum on the way.

Dolph Ziggler and Sheamus were in action next as the two once again went one on one. I wasn't happy about these two squaring off again. They needed a break from each other and this match was never going to benefit either one of these superstars because they both could not afford a clean loss. So I was watching this match on edge and very worried for both superstars. Sheamus went straight on the attack last night, dominating the match from the get go, it was as if we were getting a repeat from the Payback pay per view. The control Sheamus had in this match was so strong and Ziggler got next to no offence in the early stages. I do think they are building Sheamus up well. He's having very good performances in singles and tag team action is coming across very strong, very dominate, and very barbaric which is what he needs. Half way through the match, Lana came out and watched the match, which I think we all expected to happen. Sheamus was hundred per cent the stand out during most of this match and as a big Sheamus fan I was of course very happy with what we were seeing. What I am hopeing however, is that he's booking gets even stronger in the next couple of months as he makes he way up the roster even more. This was hands down one of my favourite matches of the night. It was well put together and flowed perfectly. The history between the two made it all that much better. The ending of the match was very clever and very well done. With Rusev coming down to the ring it allowed Ziggler to be distracted long enough for Sheamus to quickly grab the win and walk away with another victory over Ziggler. Of course a brawl broke down between Ziggler and Rusev with Rusev standing tall at the end and Lana looking on the whole time. I actually liked this part of the show too and it set up a good story to go on between the two superstars when they meet inside the Elimination chamber.

John Cena and the United States open challenge was up next and to be honest, in my eyes nothing was topping last weeks. I am defiantly getting bored of the open challenges now but it's always nice to have a little bit of unpredictability so I tried to stay positive. It's on hundred percent got to the point where I do plug my head phones in during the promo from Cena before the open challenges matches, I think I mentioned that last week. Because there was so much Kevin Owens talk I was of course paying far much more attention. Anyway, back to the open challenge and last night it was the turn of Zack Ryder to challenge Cena which was beyond predicable and because I was so tired by this point of the night all my enthusiasm was pretty much gone. I didn't have high expectations of this match at all, it's hard to remember Ryder is a former United States champion. I'm really not a fan of he's and I never have been so the pairing of this match wasn't great for me. Don't get me wrong, I was glad he got some TV time, the reaction he got and some offence in the match but I'm just not a Zack Ryder fan at all. I'll be honest, there wee a thew moments in the match were I did get a little excited so it couldn't have been all that bad. Of course Cena picked up the win in the end but Ryder did have a fairly good showing throughout. After the match was when I really woke up as out of nowhere Owens came out and attacked Cena from behind and was once again left the last man standing. I'm really loving this idea and work between these two and I cannot wait to see what goes down between them this Sunday.

Divas action next and with Brie Bella and the divas champion Nikki Bella at commentary Paige took on Tamina in one on one action. We know that this weekend at Elimination Chamber Nikki will defend her divas championship against Paige and Naomi in a triple threat and my prediction post for that will be up later this week, but last night was all about Paige gaining some much needed momentum after being out of action for so long. Now, I'm a huge Paige fan but I really do want her out of the title picture as soon as possible and I really don't want her to become the divas champion yet again this weekend. It's one hundred per cent Naomi's time but I will talk more about this in my prediction post later this week. The match last night was a little messy at times and it din't really flow as well but there was some great spots throughout and Paige was very impressive throughout. I found it very difficult not to compare this match to what got last week at NXT Takeover between Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch. I was actually very happy with the ending. I was convinced Paige would be getting the victory but I thought it was very clever having Tamina win, it's nice hearing Tamina's theme again and seeing her actually pick up a win. A solid divas match up.

There was then a little promo from the New Day which I of course loved because...well it was the new day! After they said what they waned to say, Kane came out looking rather sexy if I must say so myself. He came out with some very strange booking as the New day were set to compete in a three on ten handicap match against all five of the tag teams they will be competing against at the elimination chamber. I wasn't all that sure about this match. It was very odd booking but it did have

my attention. The match didn't last long at all, a matter of seconds even before things all broke down and there was one big brawl between all the teams. I'm loving all the tag teams right now so this was a nice little touch of the night. In the end the New day were left standing....until Cesaro and Tyson Kidd got back in the ring. So it makes everything very interesting and very unpredictable for this Sundays elimination chamber tag team match.

It was then time for Ambrose to sign the contract for he's match against Seth Rollins this Sunday at Elimination Chamber for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, after the antics from the Authority, we saw Ambrose "arrested"and things were not looking good for Dean. If he did not show up last night to sing the contract than the Authority made it clear he would not be getting the match. Rollins acting all smug and cocky along with Stephanie and Hunter got the surprise of their life's when Roman Reigns made an appearance going right after the Authority but the numbers game caught up with him very quickly until... Ambrose turnt up...dressed as a police man.... it was in this moment I died. As Ambrose and Reigns double teamed Rollins and cleared the ring Dean was able to sign the contract ending the show.

The show all round was decent. It had it's strong moments but I didn't enjoy the night as much as previous shows.I'd rate it a six and a half out of ten this week. The build up to elimination chamber was perfect and it was great seeing Owens on RAW again. Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

Elimination Chamber predictions part 1